From Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, to the cast of Queer Eye, it's not at all uncommon for working relationships to be anything but cordial behind the scenes in film and television.
Recently, rumors began swirling that Vincent D'Onofrio and Matthew Lillard might be the latest co-stars who had a less-than-harmonious working relationship on the set of the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again.
The rumors initially began swirling following an on-screen conversation between D'Onofrio, who plays the imperious Mayor Fisk on the series, and the show's title player, Charlie Cox:
- YouTubeyoutube.com
D'Onofrio shared that he was excited to reunite with Lilliard, whom he previously appeared opposite in the 1999 film Spanish Judges (also released as Ruthless Behavior).
However, D'Onofrio also claimed that Lillard's portrayal of Fisk's adversary, Mr. Charles, was so convincing that it also affected his off-screen perception of him:
"My character, Fisk, dislikes him so much that it bled into the way I feel about Matthew."
The Men In Black star later emphasized that while this was not a new experience for him as an actor, it was the first time it had ever happened on the set of Daredevil.
Cox pointed out how brilliant Lillard was at being "annoying," which D'Onofrio agreed with.
Indeed, D'Onofrio found Lillard so brilliant that he even dreaded filming scenes between Fisk and Mr. Charles, and that he even had a "hard time being in the same room with Matthew."
When the latter quote began to go viral and be taken grossly out of context, however, D'Onofrio swiftly took to X (formerly Twitter) to clear the air:
D'Onofrio made it clear that it was Lillard's character, and not Lillard himself, that he didn't want to share a room with, which was a testament to Lillard's performance:
"Only a wonderful actor like Matthew Lillard can make another actor react the way I did."
"He is simply a wonderful actor and one of my favorites."
"And a truly decent dude."
X users applauded the classy way D'Onofrio cleared the air, while a few took an opportunity to bemoan how they felt the situation was grossly exacerbated, and others agreed that both Lilliard and D'Onofrio are two of our greatest actors working today:
There was one, admittedly off-topic, response to D'Onofrio's post, however, that was particularly noteworthy.
X-user @CarrickBall_took the opportunity to share that the series has proven to be a much-needed source of comfort following his grandfather's cancer diagnosis:
"Hi Vincent."
"Thanks for all your hard work in DD: BA."
"I just found out my grandfather has stage 4 cancer and being able to watch the series when I feel down has truly helped me through."
"You’ll probably never see this but you and everyone with the daredevil crew help me thru so much."
However, D'Onofrio did see this response, resulting in him taking to X with yet another classy shoutout:
A class act through and through, and—just like his co-star Lillard—completely the opposite of his on-screen persona.
The second season of Daredevil: Born Again can currently be streamed on Disney+, with new episodes dropping on Tuesdays.
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